Community Practice

Compliance with environmental laws and regulations pertaining to pharmaceutical waste disposal is an essential part of pharmacy management. Here are some tips to make the process less daunting.

Guidelines for managing elevated blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus, developed jointly by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), are being published concurrently in the ADA?s journal, April 19 online edition of Diabetes Care and in EASD?s journal, Diabetologia.

Fibromyalgia patients taking pregabalin had significant improvements in sleep and decreased daily pain, according to a new study published in the April 2012 issue of Arthritis Care & Research.

FDA has approved insulin detemir [rDNA origin] injection (Levemir, Novo Nordisk) pregnancy Category B classification, indicating that when used in pregnant women with diabetes, the injection did not increase the risk of harm to the unborn baby.

Patients using periprocedural dabigatran had a significantly higher major bleeding rate than those using warfarin, according to a study published online first February 1, 2012, in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Pharmacy benefit manager giant Express Scripts has developed a predictive model, ScreenRx, to combat what its chief scientist calls "the most costly healthcare issue in America" ? non-adherence.

AccentHealth, one of the largest health education television networks, has expanded its patient waiting room television programming to include 8 new condition-specific networks that reach 173 million viewers annually.

When co-pays are similar, patients prefer community pharmacies versus mail order to fill their prescriptions by a ratio of 4 to 1, according to a new study published in the April 2012 issue of The Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy.

What's different in your drug stores this month? A new source of iron in a prenatal multivitamin supplement drink. Healing lotion that contains aloe and vitamin E to protect skin from dryness. A topical pain reliever that is applied like a deodorant and stored in the freezer. For those year-round coughs and colds, a soothing, non-drowsy liquid formula. An omega-3, 6, 9 vitamin to support the body's natural anti-inflammatory response. Yogurt-based products that help quench the skin's "moisture-thirsty" cells. And there are even more new over-the-counter items featured in the print edition of Drug Topics.

California pharmacists would be able to better assist patients with increasingly more complicated over-the-counter assessment tests if the state?s Senate approves new legislation, according to Jon Roth, CEO, California Pharmacists Association.

The recent passage of a Kentucky bill prohibiting pharmacy benefit managers from recouping payments through pharmacy audits when there is no evidence of fraud bodes well for similar federal legislation, according to a recent statement from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

Congressional approval of the bipartisan Generic Drug and Biosimilars User Fee Act could eliminate 90% of the backlog of Abbreviated New Drug Applications by 2017, FDA official Russell Wesdyk, BS, MBA, said in a presentation last month.

FDA approved the first 4-strain influenza vaccine live, intranasal (FluMist Quadrivalent, MedImmune) for the prevention of influenza. The vaccine?s 4 strains (2 type-A and 2 type-B lineages) help provide broad protection against circulating influenza A and B.

The new guidelines are based on data from 2 trials that focused specifically on treating elderly patients for hypertension, which hadn't been done before.

Help is at the ready for the millions of Americans who suffer from chronic and acute pain.

Prescribing errors in primary care offices were significantly reduced with pharmacist intervention, according to a recent study.

The safety of dabigatran is being called into question again. Concern has arisen about an increased risk of myocardial infarction in patients who are treated with the drug.

Polish up your skills and support each other or face irrelevancy like the Bates Stamper.

A survey of new Rx, new generic, and new OTC products

The business formula for success is simple and has withstood the test of time.

A new campaign helps encourage more patient-pharmacist interaction, making patients feel comfortable enough to ask the questions they usually don't.

Patients can serve as checkpoints to guide drug development down the most efficient path.

It's still good to be a pharmacist. With high job satisfaction rates, low unemployment, good salaries, and annual raises, most pharmacists continue to report they are happy with their career.

Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea now accounts for about 14,000 deaths per year in the United States. CDC is calling on hospitals to exercise better antibiotic stewardship to help stem the tide.

CMS's proposed regulation for long-term care consultant pharmacists is stirring up controversy.